A pen pal relationship between a studious fifth-grader at Druid Hill
Elementary School and a 79-year old senior citizen bore the ultimate fruit
in May when Dorothea Peak graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical
Center College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree.
In 1989, Peak and other Druid Hill fifth-graders were encouraged to
write Valentine’s Day letters to elderly local residents. Peak’s pen pal,
Catherine Wyatt, wrote such a warm encouraging message, the two maintained
contact for eight years until Wyatt died at age 87.
“In the time we were friends, Mrs. Wyatt broke both of her hips,” said
Peak, a lifelong resident of North Omaha. “The second time she was placed
in a nursing home where she remained. I would visit her regularly in that
home and saw how much health care is needed to provide for the elderly.
I was very impressed by the nurses and the way they interacted with Mrs.
Wyatt and the other patients. Ever since fifth grade, I knew I wanted to
be nurse.”
It would be easy and sentimental to say the rest is history, but Peak’s
destiny to become a registered nurse had some powerful support. The daughter
of Fred and Rosemary Peak, she has several nurses in her family including
several cousins, one of whom is a nurse practitioner, and her late aunt,
Dorothy, who was a nurse at Peak’s church.
“Aunt Dorothy had this wonderfully caring attitude and was such a people
person,” Peak said. “I noticed that all my relatives that were nurses had
personalities that seemed so appropriate for the profession.”
Moreover, Bishop Dr. Nelson G. Turner, Peak’s pastor at Greater Bethlehem
Temple-Jesus Only, 2316 N. 25th St, has a nurse auxiliary board led by
Patricia Tisdale, the school nurse at Fontenelle Elementary School, UNMC’s
Adopt-A-School. The church unit provides first aid protection during church
services and educational workshops for members on diabetes and other health
issues affecting African-Americans.
Peak has remained focus on her career goal since fifth grade. In 1996,
she graduated with honors from North High School, where she took every
available math and science course. While there, she developed a friendship
with Mary McNamee Ph.D., assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing.
Dr. McNamee, who regularly visits Omaha schools to talk with students and
identify potential nursing candidates for mentoring and additional guidance,
became a trusted advisor for Peak long before graduation.
Yet, none of this supportive network would have been any good without
Peak’s own insatiable scholarship and enthusiasm. In her high school anatomy
class, Peak took photographs of a dissected cat so she could study the
pictures at home and really understand her textbook assignments. Peak also
obtained permission during her first year of nursing school to observe
a human autopsy and follow the cadaver through the funeral arrangements.
“I think some of my friends may not have understood just how much I
was amazed at the human organism, what an actual brain looks like, or how
the human arteries are prepped for embalming,” Peak said. “I have enjoyed
science since I was kid. It was never boring to me at all.”
Peak’s long-range goal is to enter pediatric medicine. She soon will
begin work at NHS University Hospital as a nurse in the pediatrics department.
Later she will begin her course work to become a nurse practitioner. The
nurse practitioner must have a masters degree, do advanced research and
receive the kind of extensive instruction that is closer to being a medical
school student than a nurse. Nurse practitioners are the only classification
of nurses certified to write prescriptions, so Peak also will undergo extensive
training in pharmacology. Most importantly to Peak, as a nurse practitioner
with a medical doctor’s sponsorship, she can open her own health clinic,
a dream she has long held for her native North Omaha community.
“I have been blessed to receive great support for my education from
my church community,” Peak said. “My elders taught me how to hold my own,
no matter what the circumstances, and how to relate to every type of person.
At North High School I was often the only minority in many of my advanced
classes and college was often the same way. But I have always been able
to form friendships and build study groups and be a well-rounded person.”
Peak’s future will continue to be fulfilling and busy — starting with
her November wedding to Daniel Clute, M.D., a fellow church member and
2001 graduate of UNMC’s College of Medicine. Peak also will continue mentoring
to church youth and other students throughout Omaha, advising them to focus
on a goal, work hard in school, and put themselves in a position to obtain
valuable scholarships to pay for their education. Peak’s hard work paid
off; her entire nursing school education was paid for through scholarships.
In a special moment, Peak invited the son of her childhood pen pal,
Catherine Wyatt, to attend her UNMC commencement.
“I still have every letter Mrs. Wyatt wrote to me,” Peak said. As a
little girl I looked after her during her final years in a nursing home
and, in a way, I feel she’s still a part of my nursing career.”